Polar Lights
by Lawl-ya
Summary: My contribution for Laven Week 2016, Day 2: Venus. Some Crown Clown cuddling because it's surprisingly cold on a mission and Lavi didn't bring enough clothes to keep himself warm. Allen takes pity on him.


Thanks to my lovely beta minimumspeed. It was at the last minute again, sorry for that OTL

* * *

Allen was sure Lavi's teeth would shatter any moment now, what with them chattering like that. "W-Why is it so damn cold?" he managed between the shivering of his lips which were turning slightly blue, much to Allen's concern.  
"Why didn't you put on more clothes? We were told there might be sudden drops in temperature, especially at night."

Lavi shot him an indignant look and his words blended into each other to the point that Allen had a hard time understanding him, "Drop in temperature or not, it's not supposed to get _this_ cold." He wrapped his arms around himself as if it might help to preserve the last of his body heat. "This is ridiculous; it was still hot and summery this morning and now we stand around in freezing temperatures for hours. And bearing in mind the Science Division's constant boasting about their extra-warm coats, these aren't really doing such a great job at all!"

"There's a limit to everything, it seems," Allen muttered, eyeing his own coat, and shivered as a gust of wind whistled past them. He hunched his shoulders to further sink into the fabric.  
Lavi caught the movement immediately. "See, you're cold despite all your layers! Come on, Allen, let's call it a day and bail."

"We won't." Allen winced at Link's sharp comment. Unlike them, he seemed to be unfazed by the freezing cold while sitting on a rock not far from them, using the small light of a golem to read a book. "The phenomenon occurs only irregularly at night so we'll stay until sunrise. If we leave now, we might miss it." Over the pages, he threw Lavi a reproving glance who grumbled and wrapped his scarf tighter around his neck.

"And if we stay any longer, I'll lose both hands." He suddenly perked up then. "Hey, I could make up a fire for us."  
Allen's heart almost jumped out of his throat as Lavi reached for his left leg with a playful grin and gleaming eyes. "No."  
"Aww, come on, a small controlled fire will warm us up in no time."  
The over-confidence with which he said that gave Allen stomachaches. "Absolutely not," he repeated as vehemently as he could muster and narrowed his eyes at Lavi's crestfallen expression. "Lavi, with you, a fire is never small. And certainly not controlled. And we're in an open stretch of land with dry grasses and trees. And—," Allen raised his voice when Lavi was about to argue back already, "—unlike you, Link and I aren't equipped with fire-resistant clothes. Leave it."  
"Allen, honestly now, I'm _freezing_ over here!" Lavi tried pleading with him and worst of all, Allen actually believed him. He was shivering like crazy.

For a moment, Allen considered whether he should take the risk, especially with Link being nearby, but ultimately yielded at Lavi's pitiable sight. "Alright. But no kindling!" he hurried, "I've got a better idea."  
The confusion on Lavi's face as Allen took off his coat and shudderingly folded it up was priceless. "Whatcha doin' there?"  
"Sit down." Allen dropped the makeshift cushion unceremoniously in front of a rock.

Without so much as looking at it, Lavi arched his eyebrows. "I certainly won't sit on the cold floor. What's the point anyway?"  
At the end of his patience – it was _damn_ cold –, Allen just glared at him.  
Lavi swallowed audibly. "Alright, alright. Will do!"  
Exposed to the bitter cold, Allen waited for Lavi to finally make himself comfortable and dropped into his lap as soon as he stopped fidgeting every few seconds, effectively interrupting his "And what now?". Lavi's whole body tensed behind him but Allen couldn't have cared less about decency or the like when he activated his Innocence with a contented sigh and let Crown Clown's cloak engulf them, the hood securely wrapped around both their heads.

Soon, Allen felt the chill leave his body despite how stubborn it tried to cling to him. By the time Lavi mumbled faintly "Crown Clown's too warm. No fair.", it was already gone.  
His sullen tone made Allen laugh. "What, now you're complaining? I can always just—"  
He started to sit up but didn't get far before Lavi wrapped his arms around his waist and pulled him back against his chest, his whole body curling up around Allen. "No, not complaining." An icy nose swept along the side of his neck, then cold lips pressed a quick kiss to his nape. "Just getting sleepy …"

And as if to be sure that Allen stayed where he was, Lavi intertwined their fingers. Allen hesitated for a moment, then squeezed them lightly. His heart swelled when Lavi returned the gesture immediately, pulling him even closer, Lavi's arms around him like a protective cocoon.  
The warmth radiating into his limps had nothing to do with Crown Clown's cloak. Allen let himself sink further into the embrace, Lavi's body a pleasant weight against his back, his scent lingering around Allen's nose like a drug.  
It was terrifying how safe and secure he felt. How something this simple could elicit such a strong yearning from him, an insatiability that seemed to take hold of him, wanting more, so much _more_ of this closeness, even now, Leverrier, Central and Link be damned.

Allen blinked sleepily when Lavi shifted his weight more and more onto his shoulders.  
"But no falling asleep." His only response was a non-committal hum deep in Lavi's throat and a forehead which slumped against the back of his head. "Lavi, seriously." His tone lacked the sharpness needed to genuinely stir up Lavi who kissed the top of his head with another hum but Allen couldn't really care about that, his slight irritation chased away by the fluttering of his heart.

Suppressing a smile, he braced himself for another few hours of waiting to come.

* * *

"Look!"

Lavi wasn't sure how much time had passed when Allen's outcry brought him back to the here and now. Between the warmth of Allen's back in front of him and the lulling heartbeat resonating through Crown Clown as if it were alive, Lavi had trouble not dozing off while he slowly thawed. Eventually, he had propped his chin on top of Allen's head and the smell of his hair only made it more difficult to not fall asleep, the slight tickling against his neck and cheeks the only thing that stopped him from doing so.  
Until Allen gazed skywards and jolted him out of his nap. "You think these are the 'strange lights' mentioned?"

He didn't even know whether the question was directed at him but nonetheless made the effort to force his eyes open. It took a moment for Lavi to find his voice again while he watched a purple red glowing bleed into the dark night sky, interspersed with greenish blue streaks of flickering light that coiled towards the horizon, "These … are Northern Lights."

Link joined them, his cool calculating eyes staring at the phenomenon. "Northern Lights in these latitudes? Seems pretty odd to me. Are you sure it's not caused by Innocence?"

Lavi tried not to sigh. "Yep." The sound popped on his lips. The Finder who had reported these 'strange lights' had likely thought the same. As well as the locals who had told him about them. "'A few times every hundred years or so' odd to be exact. There are, however, hardly any chronicles dating back that far aside from the records of the Bookman clan, and those who are aren't even close to be detailed enough to recognize the pattern."  
He kept his tone carefully impartial but couldn't prevent a trace of bitterness from slipping in. He wanted to strangle someone for the vague description of the 'strange lights' included in the mission report. With a few more details, they could have saved themselves the trip!

Link closed his book with a sigh – deep, disappointed and slightly upset. "So, false alert."

"I don't really mind though," Allen interjected. "Those might not be made by Innocence but—" Eyes full of wonder glanced over at Lavi before hurriedly turning back to the sky as if being afraid to miss something. "—to see something like this … They're beautiful."

Still, it weren't the lights up above that left Lavi breathless. Allen's radiance outshone everything he had ever seen on all his travels across the world. He didn't know what left him feeling so utterly spellbound but he just couldn't bring himself to avert his eyes even though Link was right _there_ and he really should be looking up at the sky right now.  
So, when Allen asked about the origin of Northern Lights, Lavi was incredibly grateful that he didn't look away from the glowing illuminating the night, a tingling sensation burning up his neck. "That'd … probably just bore you."

Truth be told, he wanted to keep it all just a little longer: That boundless awe in Allen's eyes and the feeling of Allen's head resting against his shoulder, their fingers still intertwined. Not for anything in the world did he want to destroy this moment.  
But Allen shook his head. "No, tell me. I want to know."  
And Lavi complied, his thumb caressing the soft skin of Allen's wrist. And while he quietly told Allen about energy and excited molecules, admiring how the light played in his white hair, seemingly making it glow, and how the smile on his face softened but didn't lose anything of its fascination, Lavi thought that it wasn't so bad anymore that they had waited for hours in the middle of the night for nothing at all or that he had nearly frozen stiff in the cold.

Allen made it all worth it somehow.


End file.
